My Summer Essentials

“Burnin’ up, burnin’ up, for you baby.” – The Jonas Brothers.

It is heating up down here in Florida, and when I say heating up I actually mean I’m surprised the whole state hasn’t burst into flames. We’ve had “real feels” of over 100 degrees everyday for the past two weeks, our pools feel like bath water and the ocean is not much of a relief from the heat either. When you live in the south in the summer months everyone has their own list of crucial items they need to survive. I’m going to share mine with you, plus a couple other fun things for summer just because they’re fun.

Skin Care & Hair Care

Skin care is so important when you are baking like a batch of cookies under the sun. Here are a couple of my favorites.

1. Solar Recovery Spray – This stuff is unreal. I’ve been using it since high school and I keep multiple bottles in my house at all times. Not only is it awesome for a bad sunburn, it’s great as an everyday moisturizer as well. ** Pro Tip: Keep it in the fridge. **

2. SunBum SPF 30 Spray Sunscreen – I love all SunBum products but this sunscreen is my O.G. sunscreen. I’ve been using it forever and it is awesome if you have sensitive skin like I do. I don’t burn too easily but sometimes I need a little protection and I feel like 30 SPF does the trick perfectly.

3. SunBum Pomegranate Lip Balm – Have to protect those lippies! This lip balm has SPF in it which I love, and this scent is my favorite.

4. Lush Ocean Salt Scrub – The best face exfoliator in the world. I use this all year round but it is especially nice in the summer months because it smells just like the ocean. It is a little bit of a splurge, but I have a really hard time finding an exfoliant that is gentle enough on my skin but does the job well. ** Pro Tip: Hide it from your brothers, fathers, boyfriends, husbands, roommates etc. because they WILL use it all – point being, this is a great gift for a guy in your life and something they’d never buy them self! **

5. Lush BIG Shampoo – Don’t be scared of this stuff just because of the chunky sea salt in it, it’s incredible. It gives your hair mermaid waves every time and tons of volume. It also smells SO GOOD.

Clothing

6. Birk Arizona Oiled Leather – My mom would kill me if she saw that I included my Birkenstocks in this post but I love them okay??? Seriously though, I’ve been living in these baby’s all summer long. Hardly ever take them off my feet.

7. Urban Outfitters Denim Shortall – I love these “shortalls” (overalls with shorts,) because they are so easy to throw on and go… usually with my Birks… sorry Mom. I love these with a little crop top underneath because it just shows a tiny bit of your stomach.

8. The Happy Sea Beach Tank – I love all my Happy Sea tanks but I’ve been wearing my yoga frog tank so much this summer. He just makes me happy every time I put it on. I love this company so much because they give back on every purchase to ocean conservation and the mom/daughter team is also pretty great too.

Fun (but useful) Stuff

8. Hydro Flask Water Bottle – These bottles are the best water bottles I’ve ever used. They keep your water (or margarita) cold for 24 hours. I’ve left mine in my boiling hot car while I was in class all day and it still had an entire bottles worth of ice when I got done. A miracle.

9. Stainless Straw – We are drinking so much more in the summer because we are dehydrated. Drink out of a reusable straw because the world throws away 500,000,000 straws a day. Save the oceans people.

10. CleverMade Cooler – If you’re cheap like me and don’t want to buy a Yeti this cooler is a great option. I’ve used it a ton in the last year because it’s the perfect size for the beach or pool. Plus it collapses for easy storage. Another cooler I love is the IceMule Cooler which keeps drinks cold for 24 hours and can also be used as a dry bag, which means it floats. **Pro Tip: If you are a lake person or a river person the IceMule is awesome because you can clip it to a float or inner tube and have your drinks accessible at all times.**

11. Avocado Float – I don’t own this item, but I need too. Fun floats in the summer are so FUN… plus they make the best pictures for the #gram.

So there you have it. My favorite items from about March to November in Florida. Below are a few of my favorite pictures from this summer so far. Stay cool friends!